Creche times

Hey there!

We have had a busy few weeks here and now that I stop and think about things I just can’t believe that we have a matter of weeks left! Where has the time gone?!

Anyway, we now find ourselves at the end of the projects that we started just after our mid-trip holiday over 6 six weeks ago! Just to recap; on our return from our holiday we decided that we would be much more effective and build stronger relationships if we spent a long period of time at one particular project. After much discussion and prayer Abi, Kez and Emma felt called to work in Brookdale Secondary and Pippa and Catherine in Amaoti 1 Primary with the intension of taking small groups of struggling kids and helping them learn to read and write better. I felt called to work in the crèche.

It has been an incredible 6 weeks for us and while in hasn’t all gone according to plan (particularly for Catherine and Pippa as we’ve talked about in other blogs!) God has been so present and at work in the things that we have been doing.

Pippa reminded me the other day that as a team we have a lot of initiative and when I think back to our 2 week placements at the crèche at the very beginning, I remember the worksheets we started making and the games that we thought up and I’m really proud of my team and what we managed to do! So when we came back from our holiday I felt convicted to go back and carry on the work that we had started and hopefully try to make a difference. This all sounds a bit clichéd I know, but now that I look back I really can see that the crèche has improved. For example, when we first arrived at LI there was very little structure in the crèche, and not a lot of learning took place. We spent a lot of time being human climbing frames which was quite tiring and, at times, the lack of structure was frustrating. The kids were given plain paper to draw on during the activity time, which was great! But what came back were 30 sheets of scribble; I knew that with a bit of help they could turn those scribbles into writing letters or drawing pictures - all they needed was a bit of guidance.

I think my biggest challenge at the crèche has been with organising and preparing the craft activities (usually in the form of worksheets). I have really enjoyed thinking up, preparing and leading the activities for the children but on the days when I didn’t, nothing was prepared by the staff. I found this really hard because I enjoyed the work that I did but didn’t feel that as a volunteer it was my place to be leading. After talking this through with Zanele we decided that even if it wasn’t sustainable I could continue doing what I was doing because the children would at least learn something during my time there.

It is frustrating that Nombuso (the crèche principle) doesn’t really prepare activities for the kids to do but I have come to realise just how difficult her job is. She looks after upwards of 30 children from 8am to 3pm Monday to Friday and, although there is usually someone else helping her, there have been days where she looks after them single-handedly. The age range of children is from about 18 months to 5 years, which is massive! And at the end of the day she goes back to look after her 7 children! What she does is incredible with such little support. With a very tight budget and only two pairs of hands looking after the children it’s very easy to see how Nombuso is stuck between a rock and a hard place. How can the crèche develop when just getting through the day is a struggle for her?

Thankfully a local charity, Domino Foundation, who work alongside LI, has been very involved in crèche development. Each day it provides soup and porridge for the kids to ensure their growth and development, they also have a monthly workshop to help crèche workers all over Amaoti improve their skills.

I have learnt that development can be a very slow process and that you have to be patient but also stubborn in making sure that things happen and get done properly, so that people don’t forget the vision and what needs to happen to get there. I have also learnt so much about material poverty; my first thought when I first arrived at the crèche was that they need more toys, more craft materials, more space etc. (and I still believe that they really could do with more), but actually children can find so much enjoyment from simple things like bark rubbing which requires a piece of paper, a crayon and a tree – that’s it, simple.

Since our arrival:

·         The crèche has moved to be closer to the LI offices (funded by Domino Foundation) so that the kids are closer to the toilet and the water supply

·          A kind woman at a local church has donated an incredible climbing frame

·         The team have made a number line and alphabet which have been put up making the crèche look much more colourful

·         We have printed and put up pictures of each of the crèche kids to help them feel part of the crèche

·         The kids have been on a school trip to a local primary school

·          We have done lots of painting and crayoning and making of worksheets

·         We have even had a go at planting African daisies

·          We brought in a CD player and watch them have fun playing musical statues

·         Some tyres have appeared (not quite sure where from!) which the kids have loved rolling down the little hill

·          We have introduced morning exercises where the kids enjoy coming outside and doing lots of star jumps among other things (the idea of this was for them to release some energy before they came back inside to play – I think it just makes them a bit more hyper!)

·         The majority of the kids have learnt to count to 10 and can draw the letters of the alphabet, the oldest kids who are going to school next year can even say the sound of the letter when I point at it – it just makes me so proud of them!

So much has been achieved at the crèche and I just want to give God the glory for it all!

It’s sad that my time at the crèche has come to an end but it was such a rich experience that I will never forget and has equipped me with new skills. My prayer for the crèche is that it will receive more support so that it can continue to go grow and educate children out of poverty.

Thanks again for all your prayers and support,

Love to you all!

Hannah x

Photos Photos Photos

Hello lovely blog readers!

This week I've decided to go for a different approach to blogging, by uploading  a few of the 3,836 photos I have taken over the past 19 weeks!

Although at times this beautiful country has given us experiences that can't be captured on camera, I have made it my challenge to take photographs that will at least remind us of the amazing journey that this trip to South Africa has been.

I couldn't upload the photos to the blog itself, so follow the link and enjoy :)

Abi  xxx

https://www.flickr.com/photos/124732887@N05/

After 4 months of avoiding doing the blog post I have finally taken on the task. I've never been the best with words or sharing my thoughts but felt I needed to highlight the challenges we face doing mission in a beautiful, frustrating, diverse country such as South Africa.

I came on mission to step outside my comfort zone, experience life in another country and of course, serve! The popular song by Hillsong 'Oceans' sums it up 'spirit lead me where my trust is without boarders'. But I never quite expected to face so many challenges or to be so far out of my comfort zone that I thought I would never make it back. However here I am writing about some of the things we have had to face while I am forever closer to being back in my depth (which isn't very deep considering my height ;) )

Working in Amoti 1 has never been easy but has always been exciting. It was in the middle of all the madness that it struck me; where do you begin to help where the need is so great ? The answer I do not know, but what I do know is you just have to rock up and roll with it. This is never the easiest thing to do when you have grown up in our western culture where the systems are far from perfect but are more established and structured compared to the places we work where communication is lacking and corruption is rife.

For example trying to work with the social workers to get a young girl out of her home where she is being sexually abused and all that is stopping this from happening is a phone number of a guardian is needed. It is in these situations where I can't help but question how there can be so much injustice and corruption, and these situations where I have learnt not to give up but persevere through the frustration and to fight for justice.

Last week was different in terms of projects, our house turned in to a small factory and we spent every waking moment making hanging heart decorations, bracelets,  journals and drawing logos on what felt like a million pieces of brown card. All to sell at the Hope Market which was took place at Grace church and supports local charities/businesses. The market went well and helped to raise valuable funds for LI.

In all of the challenges, each day we see glimpses of hope and it is these small mercies which keep us going.

Pippa